The UnRedacted, first released as Jihad Rehab, is a 2022 documentary film which follows a group of former jihadists who have been released from Guantanamo Bay detention camp to the Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Advice and Care, a rehabilitation center for Islamist jihadis in Saudi Arabia. The film was conceived and directed by Meg Smaker.[1][2][3][4] It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition on 22 January 2022 and earned generally "strong" reviews,[2] described as "humanizing" and powerful.
However, the film was also attacked for allegedly being "yet another story about Muslims as terrorists", thereby “recycling 'harmful and Islamophobic narratives'", for taking up space that could have gone to 'Muslim, and/or MENASA filmmakers' to tell non-terrorism related stories, and for allegedly "endangering its subjects".[5][6][7][8][9] The work has been defended by the National Review,[10] The Atlantic,[5] and The New York Times.[2] They noted the film was widely praised (including by people who now condemn it) until a campaign by Muslim and Arab filmmakers on social media, that (assisted by legal threats), led to the withdrawal of invitations from other film festivals and to the shunning of the film by distributors.[5][2][10] As of October 2022 the film is unavailable to the general public.[5]
- ^ "Jihad Rehab review – eye-opening documentary on a controversial program". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d Powell, Michael (25 September 2022). "Sundance Liked Her Documentary on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn't". The New York Times.
- ^ Ravindran, Manori (29 January 2022). "'Jihad Rehab' Director Addresses Critics of Controversial Guantanamo Detainees Documentary".
- ^ "'Jihad Rehab' started a furor at Sundance. But the problem is bigger than one film". Los Angeles Times. 23 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d Wood, Graeme (27 October 2022). "Cowardice at Sundance". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "The 'Jihad Rehab' Doc Is Not a Victim of Cancel Culture". NBCU Academy. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ Hussain, Murtaza (20 October 2022). "Did a Woke Mob Cancel the "Jihad Rehab" Doc? Here's the Real Story". The Intercept. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ "'The actual critique is being lost': the truth about Jihad Rehab, the year's most controversial documentary". The Guardian. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ Mullen, Pat (30 September 2022). "Pointed View: The Jihad Rehab "Controversy" Reminds Us to Question Everything". POV Magazine. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ a b Junger, Sebastian (14 October 2022). "Inside the Shameful Cancellation of Jihad Rehab". National Review. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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